BHOPAL: The statement of Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, terming Chauhan’s record better than that of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, in a party convention at Gwalior has sensationalised the party circles.
After Modi taking exception on his comparison, national president Rajnath Singh and chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan have been forced to issue clarifications.
Chauhan, interacting with the journalists in the city on Monday, said he is at number three while Modi and Chattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh are better than him. He said Advani had praised the working of chief ministers of BJPruled states.
Chauhan said he wishes to focus on Madhya Pradesh and it will remain his temple. Meanwhile, Rajnath Singh giving clarification said Advani’s statement has been misinterpreted.
He said Modi is a popular leader but it is the BJP parliamentary board which will select the party’s prime ministerial candidate. Singh said no comparison was made between Modi and Chauhan.
Advani at Gwalior convention had compared Chauhan with former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and had termed both as leaders with no ego.
The statement given by Advani, was going somewhat against Modi’s prospects. The comparison was taken as Advani camp backing Chauhan as prime ministerial candidate.
What Advani had said
Advani had said Gujarat was a healthy state which was turned into an excellent state by Modi and he praised chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh had turned BIMARU states into healthy ones. Advani’s statement did not go well with Modi, annoying him. Modi had also expressed his objection to Rajnath Singh.
Advani’s statement misinterpreted; Modi most popular, says Rajnath
Hyderabad/ Bhopal: Days after L K Advani appeared to have preferred Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan over Narendra Modi in the race for BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, party president Rajnath Singh on Monday said the Gujarat heavyweight was the “ most popular leader” in the country. “ I think Advani’s statement has been wrongly interpreted. There cannot be two opinions that Narendra Modi is the most popular leader in the country,” Singh told a press conference in Hyderabad.
He was asked whether Advani had pitched Chauhan against Modi by lavishing praise on the Madhya Pradesh chief minister.
He did not agree that Advani pitted Chauhan against the Gujarat chief minister as a prime ministerial candidate, and said that was a wrong interpretation of the senior leader’s statement.
Singh claimed that all BJP- ruled states had developed in their respective socio- economic conditions He, however, clarified that who would be the BJP’s candidate for prime ministership would be decided by the party’s Parliamentary Board.
